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NEW YORK, NEW YORK -(77 WABC)- Chris Cuomo isn’t backing down in his battle with CNN following the ouster of his boss Jeff Zucker — the anchor intends to demand as much as a $60 million settlement, according to sources.
According to the New York Post –Multiple sources tell Page Six that Cuomo, who was fired in December for helping his brother fend off sexual harassment allegations, is ready to dig his heels in by claiming that Zucker not only knew about his dealings with the governor — but that the network boss had his own inappropriate dealings with Andrew.
And he is prepared to demand not the $18 million left on his contract, but as much as $60 million.
“He wants Megyn Kelly money,” we’re told.
One source said: “Chris insists he never did anything for his brother Andrew that Zucker didn’t know about.
“His camp believes Zucker wasn’t fired for an inappropriate relationship with Allison Gollust. Everybody knew about that and nobody cared.
“What he believes happened is WarnerMedia found something in their investigation into Chris, perhaps internal memos or documents which revealed more about Zucker’s involvement with Andrew Cuomo. Gollust was just a convenient excuse.”
“Chris intends to fight for every dollar on his contract, and loss of income from the 15 to 20 years left in his career, had Zucker not orchestrated a ‘f–k-job’ on him. He could ask for as much as $80 million but CNN isn’t going to pay that. But there’s an argument he could ask for as much as $60 million”
A second source told Page Six that, “Chris is telling people in the Hamptons he was wrongly fired, humiliated, his career has been ruined, and he wants Megyn Kelly money.”
(Kelly won a $69 million settlement from NBC in 2019 following the media storm when she defended blackface on her show.)
The Post previously reported that, in the early days of the pandemic when Andrew Cuomo became a national hero due to his daily press conferences, Zucker personally ensured that Andrew repeatedly appeared on Chris’ prime time show, because the brothers were great TV.
Sources told us Zucker even allegedly “coached Andrew Cuomo [on] what to say in his press conferences, particularly how to hit back at President Donald Trump. He advised him when, and where, and what to say. He chastised Andrew if he appeared on other networks.
